The Essence of Magic, Idealism

"At the dawn of the world, a language existed..."

The Ancient One kept her hands behind her back, recounting the history of Kamar-Taj like an old schoolteacher.

"Ancient sorcerers called it 'spells'."

Richard raised his hand like a student and asked.

"Uh, like a program in the IT industry? The code that builds a website?"

"Very good! Mr. Richard, a very precise understanding."

The Ancient One gave Richard an appreciative look and continued her lesson.

"We gather energy."

The Ancient One raised both hands and casually gestured, a golden-red runic beam appearing in her palm.

Richard looked excitedly at that golden-red runic line; this was what he wanted to learn.

Given the chance to be a noble spellcaster, no one would choose to be a combat-dog!

"Obtained from the worlds of the Multiverse."

The Ancient One's hands did not stop, drawing circles in the void, rotating and pulling. The golden-red rune that was originally a line became increasingly complex. Golden runes and geometric images intertwined and transformed, finally forming an omnidirectional, three-dimensional, shield-shaped runic array.

"Recite the spell! Forge shields and sharp weapons!"

The Ancient One pushed out with both hands, and the runic array in midair shook violently. The golden-red runic lines forming the array, the complex geometric figures, and the spell chants connecting all the patterns began to rapidly link together.

"Thus casting spells~"

The Ancient One slowly withdrew her hands, putting them back behind her. The three-dimensional runic array in midair suddenly collapsed, turning into sparks that fell to the ground.

Richard's gaze followed the trajectory of the sparks to the ground, only to find nothing there.

"So beautiful~"

Richard sighed with emotion, raising his head to look at the Ancient One. "Thank you for this lesson, Sorcerer Supreme."

"Breaking through the barriers of knowledge is by no means an easy task. Being able to understand the essence of magic so easily is a very precious talent." The Ancient One praised, then continued, "But I still suggest you start from the library. In the world of magic, just like in real science, knowledge is power."

"Of course."

Afterwards, Richard began to frequently travel between the library, the dining hall, and the dormitory. This routine of three points on a line made him feel as if he had returned to the hardworking study days of his high school era.

Relying on Total Evolution +2's transcendent memory and comprehension ability, in just one week, Richard had read through and thoroughly grasped the basic knowledge of magic in the library.

Current librarian Mage Marcus looked at the books Richard returned and said in astonishment, "The Book of Origins, The Book of Time, the Codex of Elements, the Compendium of Relics, Spatial Defense: Dimensional Barriers, and even the Book of Vishanti, you've read all of these?"

Richard nodded. "Yes, Mage Marcus."

"Truly incredible." Mage Marcus looked at the energetic Richard before him, clicking his tongue in wonder. "You are the Sorcerer Apprentice with the strongest aptitude I have ever seen, even more outrageous than Kaecilius who arrived two years ago."

"Kaecilius?" Richard's eyes brightened slightly. He knew this fellow was also a disciple of the Ancient One with high aptitude, originally having the opportunity to inherit the position of Sorcerer Supreme. However, due to his paranoid and radical personality, he was weeded out of the pool of successor candidates by the Ancient One.

He was still a ruthless person who would kill his master and destroy his sect, daring to sell his soul to Dormammu!

"Is this Mage Kaecilius in Kamar-Taj right now?" Richard pressed on.

"Not right now." Mage Marcus shook his head. "Kaecilius is currently stationed on rotation at the London Sanctum. There are still three months until his next rotation."

"Alright." Richard shrugged, saying with some regret, "What a pity, I wanted to get to know this senior brother."

"There will be a chance." Mage Marcus said with a smile. "Mage Kaecilius possesses formidable strength. Although he usually wears a stern face, his heart is very kind. The apprentices of this generation hold a great deal of respect and affection for him."

Richard looked at Mage Marcus, who kept praising Kaecilius, with a trace of pity, muttering inwardly.

Don't look at how you're praising him like a flower now. In another eight or nine years, you'll never imagine that the person you praised as a flower will personally cut off your head.

"Alright, I really look forward to the day I meet Mage Kaecilius. Oh, right, Mage Marcus." Richard changed the subject, asking Mage Marcus, "I've finished reading the basic books. What books should I read next?"

Mage Marcus smiled and waved his hand. "You can casually pick any other book, but Mage Richard, the most important thing right now is that you should go and do basic training. Just reading books won't make you a formal sorcerer of Kamar-Taj."

The "circle-drawing" action repeatedly practiced by Kamar-Taj sorcerers on a daily basis was the core foundational training of magic cultivation. Its essence was actually the training process of the soul linking to multi-dimensional space, manipulating elemental energy, and constructing various runic formations.

Following the law that practice makes perfect, only by training the soul's connection to all things from unfamiliarity to familiarity, and even to an instinctual level, could one stably construct various runic formations when encountering any danger, and quickly cast spells to deal with crises.

Simply put, it was idealism!

Magic was a very idealistic concept.

Only when your soul instinctively believed you could do it was it possible for you to actually do it.

Richard thought in his heart of the emergency operating room of Manhattan Presbyterian Hospital, slipping the Sling Ring onto his finger and continuously drawing circles in the void.

Buzz... buzz...

Along with the intermittent sound of energy cutting through the spatial barrier, specks of energetic sparks began to splatter, quickly forming a portal the size of a human head.

Through the portal, Richard saw that inside the operating room, a familiar figure was focused on performing surgery with her back turned to him.

Nurse Lina, standing opposite Christine, looked in astonishment at Richard on the opposite side of the portal.

"Hi~" Richard waved playfully, silently mouthing a greeting to Nurse Lina before quietly canceling the portal.

Nurse Lina was so startled that her grip loosened, and the forceps in her hand dropped to the floor with a clatter.

"Lina?" Christine asked in confusion.

Nurse Lina raised a finger to point behind Christine and shouted in shock, "It's Doctor Richard!"

Christine showed a look of surprise. She whipped her head around, but by then the Portal had closed, the scattered energy sparks had dissipated, and she saw nothing.

"Lina, don't joke around during surgery!" Christine turned back and glared fiercely at Nurse Lina.

"But, I—fine, I'm sorry, Doctor Palmer." Lina had no way to defend herself and could only apologize. She suspected she had just hallucinated.

Could it be that I have feelings for Doctor Richard?

A strange thought popped into Nurse Lina's mind, scaring her into quickly apologizing in her heart.

Sorry, Danny, you're the one I love most! Ah! Evil spirits be gone, evil spirits be gone!

Unaware of how much of a mental impact his playful prank of a moment ago had caused Nurse Lina, Richard began experimenting with other magic after closing the Dimensional Portal.

Richard closed his eyes to concentrate, his mind beginning to construct a magic circle, while his hands continuously shifted hand seals and he chanted incantations under his breath.

Formless dimensional energy appeared out of thin air within Richard's body from the Vishanti Dimension, and a giant sword constructed of golden energy gradually took shape.

Richard gripped the giant golden sword with both hands, feeling almost no weight to it. With a casual wave, the sharp blade easily sliced open the spatial barrier.

"The feeling just now was a bit strange."

Richard carefully recalled every detail of the giant golden sword forming just moments ago.

"Was it because the Sword of Vishanti was created by the Vishanti?"

"Then, if I don't borrow energy from the Vishanti Dimension, can I still construct the Sword of Vishanti?"

To think of doing something was to do it; Richard immediately began experimenting.

First, he dismissed the Sword of Vishanti in his hand, then mentally sketched and modified the incantation for the Sword of Vishanti.

"Okay, now let's try my improved version!"

Richard closed his eyes to concentrate, starting to construct the magic circle anew. His hand seals shifted constantly as he chanted the incantation under his breath.

"In my name, let the arm be the blade, and breath temper the fire!"

"A scorching heart forges the edge, tearing apart chaos and illusions!"

"Granted by me of the infinite worlds—"

"Sword of Endless Judgment, descend!"

As the modified incantation finished, Richard only felt his body begin to heat up. A formless and intangible energy surged from within him, and a giant sword constructed of off-white energy gradually took shape.

"It worked!" Grasping the off-white giant sword, Richard felt a familiar sense of a blood connection with it.

"Perhaps my guess was right!" Richard's eyes shone brightly. He swung the "Holy Sword 2.0" twice before casually dismissing it.

I should still discuss this with Master Ancient One.

Richard felt that, being a novice sorcerer after all, the Ancient One had served as the Sorcerer Supreme for hundreds of years and should have much richer experience in improving spells.